초록
<P><B>Abstract</B></P><P>Itaconic acid finds a place in various industrial applications. It can be produced by biocultivation in a clean and environment friendly route but recovery of the acid from the dilute stream of the bioreactor is an economic problem. Reactive extraction is a promising method to recover carboxylic acid but suffers from toxicity problems of the diluent and extractant employed. So there is need for a non‐toxic extractant and diluent or a combination of less toxic extractants in a non‐toxic diluent that can recover acid efficiently. Effect of different extractants: tri‐<I>n</I>‐butylphosphate (TBP) (an organophosporous compound) and Aliquat 336 (a quaternary amine) in sunflower oil was studied to find the best extractant–sunflower oil combination. Equilibrium complexation constant, <I>K</I><SUB>E</SUB>, values of 1.789 and 2.385 m<SUP>3</SUP> kmol<SUP>−1</SUP>, respectively, were obtained for itaconic acid extraction using TBP and Aliquat 336 in sunflower oil. The problem of toxicity in reactive extraction can be reduced by using a natural non‐toxic diluent (sunflower oil) with the extractant. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry</P>